Richmond City Council deferred a long-debated rental inspection ordinance Monday night after residents and housing advocates packed City Hall to call for stronger tenant protections and anti-displacement measures. 

Council members voted to continue the ordinance and other housing-related items after hearing public comments from dozens of residents and advocates urging immediate action to address displacement in the city. 

“Richmond, as the capital city, must lead in tenant protection,” Gilpin Informed Residents member Kiara Harris said as dozens of advocates raised signs from their seats in the council chambers. “With critical housing votes approaching, this is your opportunity to put in place proactive anti-displacement measures. Show that you are truly serious about protecting tenants in our city.” 

Harris and about 40 others echoed the same message an hour earlier outside City Hall during a news conference organized by the Richmond Housing Justice Collective. 

Residents and advocates shared housing struggles during the conference and meeting while calling for the program’s approval, a resident-led Gilpin Court Redevelopment Plan and a stronger focus on anti-rent gouging in Richmond’s 2026 legislative agenda. 

The inspection program ordinance has faced multiple discussions and delays since its introduction in June, years after the City Council first asked then-Mayor Levar Stoney’s administration to develop a program addressing housing maintenance and safety issues. 

The ordinance was sent to the council last week by the Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee with a recommendation to amend and revise the proposed program. 

Despite the ordinance’s delay, advocates remain undeterred and plan to keep pressing city leaders to approve the inspection program while continuing broader efforts to improve living conditions. 

“We know that [Richmond] has challenges and still, what it chooses to prioritize is going to speak loudly throughout the whole Commonwealth,” resident and Legal Aid Justice Center community organizer Gustavo Espinosa said after the meeting. “It’s important beyond just what the city needs.” 

The rental inspection ordinance will be discussed during the council meeting Tuesday, Oct. 14. 

Council members also approved two housing development projects during Monday’s meeting, including a special permit for Virginia Union University’s Gateway North housing project at Brook Road and Lombardy Street. The mixed-use housing project is the initial step in VUU’s multimillion-dollar plan to build housing around its campus. 

“At a time when housing is out of reach for too many people across the country, Virginia Union and the City of Richmond are taking action here in our hometown,” VUU President and CEO Hakim J. Lucas said in a statement Tuesday. “We are grateful to the city for their partnership on this important project.” 

Two ordinances focused on changing or maintaining Richmond’s current real estate tax rate were continued to Oct. 14 after a discussion among council members, Mayor Danny Avula and Chief Administrative Officer Odie Donald during the informal council meeting hours earlier.

Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press 

Amoree Speed, of New Virginia Majority, leads a round of chants during a news conference Monday, Sept. 22 outside City Hall.